Intensive training is not always better! Stricter trainers have a harder time remembering specific events than those who exercise more moderately, the study found
- People who exercise more intensely may not always do better on memory tests, despite the existing medical literature, a new study finds
- One study found that those who participate in more rigorous exercise have better spatial memory but poorer episodic memory than those who exercise lightly
- However, any type of exercise turns out to be better for a person’s brain than a sedentary lifestyle
- People who reported experiencing depression or anxiety also performed better than others in the population on some memory tests
High-intensity exercise isn’t always better for a person’s memory than moderate exercise, according to a new study.
Researchers at Dartmouth University in Hanover, New Hampshire, found that people who engage in moderate regular activity often have better “episodic” memory than their more rigorously exercising peers. This means that they remember certain events better.
However, regular practice of more intense exercise improves a person’s spatial memory, which makes them better at remembering places. This would make them more likely to remember where they parked their car, for example.
The results came as a surprise to experts, who found that more intense physical activity was generally correlated with stronger memory and brain function. This study highlights that different levels of activity can affect different parts of the brain — and consequently have different effects.
Researchers found that intense exercise may be better for a person’s spatial memory, but more moderate activity helped a person’s episodic memory (file photo)
The four memory tests included memorizing a sorted list of words, watching a short video and then taking a short quiz, studying flashcards that simulated learning a foreign language, and noticing where small objects were placed in a room.
“Mental health and memory are central to almost everything we do in our daily lives,” said Dr. Jeremy Manning, assistant professor of psychology and brain science at Dartmouth, in a statement.
“Our study seeks to provide a basis for understanding how different intensities of physical activity affect different aspects of mental and cognitive health.”
Researchers, who published their findings in Scientific Reports last week, collected data from 113 FitBit users for the study.
Each shared their device-recorded fitness data over the past year with researchers, conducted memory tests, and answered surveys about their mental health.
The four memory tests included memorizing a sorted list of words, watching a short video and then taking a short quiz, studying flashcards that simulated learning a foreign language, and noticing where small objects were placed in a room.
Judging from previous research, the Dartmouth team expected that the more intense exercise group would do better than their peers on all types of memory, but that was not the case.
People whose primary exercise was described as “moderate” over the past year performed better than their peers who engaged in excessive exercise on episodic memory tests.
Researchers describe episodic memory as the ability to recall autobiographical events, such as explaining what a person did the previous day.
Those who participated in more intense workouts performed better on spatial memory, which is a person’s ability to remember the locations of things.
No significant difference was found in the results of associative memory tests.
However, any exercise is better than no exercise, as active participants test total memory better than their more sedentary peers.
The researchers also found that people suffering from anxiety or depression performed better than others on spatial and associative memory tasks.
“When it comes to physical activity, memory and mental health, there’s a really complicated dynamic at play that can’t be summed up in single phrases like ‘walking improves your memory’ or ‘stress hurts your memory,'” Manning explained.
“Instead, specific forms of physical activity and specific aspects of mental health appear to affect each aspect of memory differently.”
This isn’t the only recent study finding potential benefits of moderate exercise over more intense exercise in terms of cognitive health.
A study published last week by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center found that moderate exercise during the day is more valuable than short bursts of intense physical activity for older people trying to keep their brains in shape.
